Binary Systems
by Azaxiel
Summary: Soundwave escapes from the shadowzone, having witnessed the final battle for Cybertron. Now that Megatron has ended the Decepticons, he wants nothing more than to live out the rest of his life in peaceful solitude with his one remaining symbiont. That is, until a new individual crashes into his existence. Rated T for Cybertronian cursing. AU/Takes place after Predacons Rising.
1. Foreward

**So, a little housekeeping and changing things around. I had originally intended to start the story this way, but couldn't get it right the first 117 attempts. R &R and let me know what you think, and I promise, CH2 is coming before the end of the month. If I keep it in my head any longer, it'll likely drive me insane. Also, in case it helps, I listen to music while I write. I'll post what I'm listening to along with each chapter. For this short one, the Main Titles of Now You See Me 2, and the track called 300 Seconds from the same album.**

 **So this is my first story here. Go easy on me ;) Gonna do my best to keep true to the characters (as I see them). This takes place after the events of Predacons Rising and gos AU from there. Locations come from this map: post/142122506177/map-of-cybertron-non-canon. Time scale is based on IDW comics. OC is mine, and even though you're about to see him, you won't truly meet him until later.**

 **+symlink dialog+**

Personal log – 001

"Here lies Pulsar" Seems strange to read to be able to read the words on ones own monument. My monument. A monument to me. No, I'm not dead. The monument is merely symbolic. Though seeing those words, comprehending their meaning, truly forces me to take stock in my life. The symbology of it forces me to look forward.

+The rebirth of Pulsar+

+Stay out of my logs, please Ravage?+

+*growl* As you wish+

She does make a good point. The monument represents a new beginning. My new beginning. Some time ago, I was someone else. Someone I've yet to become. And that someone died. Symbolically, anyways.

That's not really a good place to start, though, is it? Where should I begin? The first time I cam online, spark still cold?

No. That would be disingenuous. That would be me writing of someone whom I know little of. Only fragments, really.

+You said 'frag'-+

+Rumble, for Primus sake,-+

+Okay, okay, geez+

Soundwave tells me I should keep a log like this, to help me 'cope' with my memory loss. Looking at this monument, I think I'm coping just fine. Now, as for where to begin? I think the beginning of my new life is perhaps the best place to start. Now, I know what you may be thinking: If you're reading this now, then everything must be OK. Certainly, everything turns out fine in the end, right?

Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions. For every new beginning starts out with an end. Every chapter, has it's close. Let's start there. The end of my first life.


	2. Prologue

"WARNING! WARNING!-" sirens wailed as the ships computer made a desperate attempt to alert the pilot to the rapidly approaching ground.

"What the? Huh?" a unsteady voice called out from below the control console.

"WARNING! LOSING ALTITUDE!" the ships computer repeated as a hand appeared, slowly pulling the pilot from the floor.

"Computer! Status report!" he shouted as he shook his head, trying to clear his vision. Bracing himself on the control console, he lifted himself up before collapsing unceremoniously into the chair before it. He offlined his optics before onlining them again, his vision finally starting to clear just in time to see the planets surface rapidly approaching.

"Oh slag! Slag! Slag!" he rapidly slammed a few keys on the console, causing a control yoke to rise up from beneath the console. Grabbing it roughly, he pulled back towards himself as hard as he could. His approach was shallowing out, but not enough, and certainly not fast enough. He was going to crash, that much was for certain. The only distinction now, the only one that mattered anyway, was how bad of a crash it was going to be. He hurriedly tapped a few more keys before slamming the throttle lever to his left to full power, the ships engines screaming at full capacity to both slow his approach and potentially, hopefully, bring his current course slightly less perpendicular to the planets surface.

"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Saturn 2. I repeat this is Saturn 2, I'm going down!" He screamed the hail into his com, hoping someone would hear it and send rescue. Primus knows if he wasn't able to salvage this approach he was going to need them. He quickly looked over his shoulder at the lone stasis pod the ship had onboard.

He contemplated using it as an escape capsule. It was still viable, and sure to survive the crash. He turned back, tapping a few more commands into the control console, attempting to fire retro-rockets usually reserved for landing in an attempt to slow the ship down. A loud explosion on the starboard side of the ship turned contemplation into action as the retro-rocket system failed. He dove from the command console to the stasis pod, tapping a few commands into the keypad on the side before sliding in as the cover closed with a hiss. Through the transparent lid, he was able to see the ground, close enough now to make out scars on its metallic surface. He threw a hand up to shield his face before a cold blackness overtook him.

The Saturn 2 impacted the ground with enough force to leave a significant crater and a trail of wreckage for almost a full kilk. The remains of the ship were barely recognizable, save for a lone stasis pod that had been ejected from the wreckage, it's occupant alive, but not in the best shape.


	3. Chapter 1

**That was quick, but please don't get used to it. I had always intended to have a short prologue to start things out followed by the first chapter, which I had mostly written in my head. Please review! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Soundwave awoke to Laserbeak's chirping near the entrance to the abandoned lab they both called home. There wasn't much left of it, most of the equipment had been destroyed in an Autobot raid long ago. What was left of the ruined lab equipment had been moved to an alcove towards the back of the lab. The only two things to survive were an energon processor, and a recharge berth. Two things Soundwave was supremely grateful for. He had escaped the shadowzone after the Nemesis crashed, the impact damaging the spacebridge systems in just the right way. He'd limped from the wreckage, hiding in the shadows to surveil his surroundings just in time to hear Megatron:

"Enough! The Decepticons are no more. And that's final."

He'd remember those words for the rest of his existence. He certainly remembered feeling his spark nearly leap from his spark chamber when Megatron's words sunk in. He remembered his legs nearly giving out as he comprehended their meaning. The war was over. Realizing that he had been on the losing side, he did the only logical thing. He ran.

That had been almost a meta-cycle ago. He had bounced from one to another of Shockwave's old labs, knowing that quite a few of them had suitable habitations. He felt liberated, no longer a slave to the Decepticon cause. He had realized long ago, before the Nemesis had returned to Cybertron, that he no longer believed in Megatron's leadership. However, he couldn't bring himself to leave knowing he'd become an enemy of both sides.

He had finally found this lab on the outskirts of Kaon, in the Sonic Canyons, well away from the Autobots in Iacon. He and Laserbeak were content here, with everything they needed: Shelter, a steady source of energon, a recharge berth, and solitude.

He stood up from the recharge berth and walked to the ruined door where Laserbeak was perched and gently ran a finger down the back of her head. She was fixated on something, that much he could tell from their link. She looked up at him, chirped inquisitively, then looked back to the sky. Soundwave followed her gaze towards the heavens as he saw a trail of fire. He stepped out from the lab as he zoomed his optics in for a better look. It was a ship from the looks of it, though he wasn't certain of it's origin. One thing he was certain of: it was going down, and fast.

He stroked Laserbeak's head once again as she felt gratitude washing over her from their link. She knew as well as Soundwave that they needed supplies. Having scoured the remnants of Kaon, at least the areas that werent completely destroyed, he knew his best chance of finding anything was this ship. He took a step back from Laserbeak to give her enough space to transform and dock onto his chest plate before transforming into his altmode, a sleek UAV, and shooting off towards the soon to be wreckage.

"May-urn 2! I repe-Saturn 2!-down!" he caught a few words of the pilot's panicked distress call, noting how young the voice sounded. He was outpaced by the flaming ship, purposefully keeping his distance in the chance that it exploded. From a distance, he watched as the pilot, presumably in a last ditch effort attempted to fire retro-rockets to slow the ship down. _A futile effort_ he thought to himself, knowing full well how those types of retro-rockets were only for low-velocity maneuvering. A loud explosion from the ships starboard side reaffirmed his thoughts. _Predictable._

The ship crashed onto the surface, digging deeply into the plates of Cybertron's surface as it tumbled apart in a mass of fire and screaming metal on metal. He flew overhead, surveying the wreckage to identify anything of value when a sudden sensor spike caused him to take a quick evasive maneuver. Steadying himself, he came about to see what had nearly knocked him out of the sky. _What the-? A stasis pod?_ He thought to himself as a ping of curiosity came from Laserbeak as well. He circled around the pod as he descended, noting that it had sustained heavy damage, but was still functional.

He transformed as he landed, keeping a watchful eye to both the sky and his surroundings. If he had seen the crash, chances are, someone else might have too. Cautiously, he approached the pod and brushed off some burning material from the lid. The flames had turned the lid opaque, though his scanners could still detect a spark within, as well as a rough shape. _That shape_ he thought to himself, his breath hitched in his vocalizer. _It can't be._ Laserbeak pinged Soundwave reassuringly, noticing her carriers distress. He took a deep breath as he moved around to the end of the pod where the control panel was, only to let out a soft sigh. The control panel had been destroyed. A faint beeping from the innards of the stasis pod indicated that the pod was losing power, and the occupant would need to be removed soon.

Running a quick check of his memory banks to find a particular location, he opened a ground bridge. As the green vortex whirled to life with a soft roar, he grabbed the end of the stasis pod and proceeded through.

* * *

Shockwave rummaged through the pile of wires and parts on his workbench looking for something in particular, though he couldn't be sure what. Like most other Decepticons, suddenly finding yourself without purpose didn't come easily. Shockwave thought he could simply return to the experiments and research he had worked on before the war had started. Though, without his notes, or any of his original research, the task had seemed daunting. He turned from the workbench to dig through another box on the counter behind him when a familiar chirp made him spin towards the door.

There sat Laserbeak, quietly regarding him. The two just stared at each other for several moments. _Laserbeak? This turn of events is most illogical._ He thought to himself as he took a cautious step forward.

"Laserbeak? If you are here, then Soundwave must also be near by. This is highly unlikely however, as he is trapped between bridges."

*Chirp* Laserbeak simply returned the stare. Shockwave looked around outside, eye scanning the area for Laserbeak's carrier. Finally, he looked up, noticing Soundwave hovering a ways up. Once again, the two simply regarded each other, seeing who would blink first. Eventually, Soundwave descended to the ground, transforming just before landing behind Laserbeak.

"Soundwave? How did you manage to escape?" Shockwave inquired cautiously, still not certain of the others intentions. Soundwave, characteristically didn't respond with spoken words, but instead played a surveillance video from the Nemesis crash showing the damaged ground bridge systems.

"The crash? Interesting. And what brings you here?" Shockwave moved his left arm, the end of which emitted a faint glow. Soundwave held up his hands, a sign that he didn't want conflict. On his visor he displayed an image of the stasis pod, hidden safely nearby.

"A stasis pod? From where?" Shockwave powered down his fusion cannon, taking a step closer to better see the image displayed on the others visor. Soundwave showed him a picture of the crash site, but gave no further indication of where he had found the pod. He then quickly replaced the crashed ship with the image of the pod, this time in more detail, noting the damage to the pod's systems.

"Take me to it. Whomever is inside won't last long if the pod is that badly damaged" Soundwave turned, walking briskly to where he had hidden the pod about a half a klik away. Shockwave approached the pod, kneeling near the ruined control panel before taking a small case of tools out of sub space. He looked back up at Soundwave, who appeared to be staring at what-whomever was inside.

"It seems that who ever is in there bears some importance to you?" Shockwave asked, catching Soundwave unaware. His attention snapped to the scientist kneeling at one end of the pod, fiddling with the wiring within. He hadn't realized he was staring, but the thought that had crossed his processor when he'd first scanned the pod stuck with him. _Rumble...Frenzy._ He sighed softly before turning back to the pod's opaque lid.

He knew it wasn't either of them. He'd seen both of them die. Frenzy first, as he dove in front of a cannon blast that had been meant for Soundwave. Rumble a few cycles later, when a sharpshooter had taken a shot at a stack of energon blocks he had been carrying. He shuddered as the memories replayed in his processor, thankful that Shockwave hadn't seen it. A faint click and soft hiss brought him out of his reverie as Shockwave's attempt to safely deactivate the pod had succeeded. Soundwave looked expectantly towards where the lid opened, not quite knowing what to expect.

Inside lay a young, vaguely cybertronian looking mech. His armor was unlike anything either of them had seen: overlapping plates of gleaming black with chrome colored accents near the joints. Blue biolights glowed faintly along his sides and down his arms. Only the upper half of his face was visible beneath a black faceplate, the part that was visible was a deep gray color surrounding his optics.

"Quickly, lets get him back to the lab." Shockwave lifted the smaller mech as they headed back. Soundwave still couldn't shake the feelings he had about this mech: how it reminded him somehow of his twin symbionts, Rumble and Frenzy. Once inside, Soundwave hurried in front of Shockwave to clear one of the circuit slabs.

"His spark is weak," Shockwave said matter of factly while searching his lab for a different scanner. "He'll be lucky to survive another solar cycle."

Soundwave looked up from the young mech to Shockwave, his pleading eyes masked by his visor. Laserbeak reassured him through their bond. Soundwave moved a step closer to the slab, looking the mech over for any faction insignia, finding none. He couldn't explain why he was so worried for their unconscious patient, but he felt...almost a responsibility.

Shockwave had begun scanning the young mech's spark in more detail now, moving a new scanner over his chest while scanning the computer screen next to him for any clues. After a few moments, he laid the scanner back down with a sigh.

"He only has half of a spark. His counterpart, possibly a twin of some sort, would have the other half. It appears the other half no longer exists." Shockwave explained. Soundwave looked up to the scientist, his sudden movement almost frantic. He turned away for a moment, considering things, before turning to face Shockwave again. His visor lit up, showing for a few moments each, his symbionts.

"Linking his systems to yours could potentially work. Are you sure you want to do that? You don't even know what faction he belongs to." Soundwave didn't flinch, or back down.

Shockwave took a breath and turned back towards the young mech, carefully disconnecting the armor plating over their patients chest cavity to gain access to its spark chamber. He stepped across the room, looking for the link hardware he had just seen earlier. Soundwave looked into the young mech's chest cavity, not recognizing some of the internal systems from all of the schematics he had in his memory bank. Shockwave returned carrying a small box with numerous wires hanging from it only to notice the same thing.

Inside the young mech's chest cavity, his spark glowed, as most do. However, there were two additional devices giving off a faint blue light. Shockwave visually inspected the two devices a moment before picking up his scanner again. He seemed genuinely surprised by what the scanner indicated.

"He has two energon-plasma reactors," Shockwave mused quietly "Not unlike a design I created long ago," he finished after a pause. "This defies logic." he muttered before starting the intricate work of wiring in the link that would link the young mech's spark to Soundwave. Laserbeak detached from her master's chest plate and circled him, before landing on his head to get a better look. The two of them were growing impatient.

"It is done." Shockwave stated as he replaced the young mech's chest plates and reached for the spark regulator intending on waking the young mech up. As his right hand neared the regulator, a hand shot up from the table and grabbed it with surprising strength.

"Who are you? What have you done to me?" Soundwave nearly jumped when the young mech grabbed the scientist's arm, his movements were lightning fast. Shockwave was startled as well, not so much by the young mech's quick movement, but by his strength. He was only roughly a third of their size, but was nearly equal in strength. Shockwave got his arm free, then used it to hold the young one down.

"Relax, we're not going to harm you in any way," Shockwave tried to calm the young one down, but it only seemed to intensify his struggles. "We found you in the wreckage of a shi-"

"What have you done to me? Why can't I remember anything!? I don't know who I-"

Soundwave cut him off as he nearly pushed Shockwave aside, pressing the young mech down to the table by both shoulders as he looked with his visor directly into the young mech's eyes.

"Calm!" the sound of his voice startling even Shockwave. Soundwave held him there a moment more as the young mech felt a soothing wave wash over his spark. The young mech calmed down considerably. Soundwave moved a hand to his visor, a soft click could be heard as he unlocked it and removed it, carefully placing it into subspace before locking eyes with the now much calmer young mech.

"What is your name?" Soundwave asked calmly, being sure to modulate his voice to calm the young one down.

"Pul...Pulsar," he replied, his breath still hitching on his vocalizer.

"Good, Pulsar. Do you remember what happened before you woke up here?"

"No, nothing." Soundwave looked away in a bit of sadness at this statement. He'd lost memories before, it was never pleasant. But the entirety of ones memory? He couldn't hardly imagine it.

"Do you know what we've done to you?" he asked Pulsar softly. Pulsar shook his head no, and Soundwave felt his fear and mistrust flare up again, countering the feelings with warmth and comfort.

"You only have one half of a spark, and it was fading. We think your other half, a sibling of sorts, might have perished. We did the only thing possible to save you." Soundwave looked up at Shockwave for a moment, who respectfully remained silent, knowing the importance of the relationship between carrier and symbiont.

"You and I are now linked." Soundwave finished as Pulsar looked at him, knowing through the link between them that he was safe.


	4. Chapter 2

Pulsar kicked an errant piece of scrap metal as he surveyed the debris field. The twisted, burnt wreckage was barely recognizable as a ship. He knelt down, brushing some smaller metal fragments off of a larger burnt section of hull plating, revealing the ships name.

"Saturn 2," he spoke softly, as if saying the words aloud would somehow jog his memory, "Is this where you found me?" he stood, turning towards Soundwave, who had kept a respectful distance towards the edge of the wreckage. Soundwave nodded after a pause. Pulsar sighed and shook his head.

"I'm gathering you don't speak much?" his voice was tinged with frustration. He still didn't know what to make of his new situation. He'd awoken lying on a circuit slab in the shabby remains of a once clandestine laboratory with two mech's standing over him. Neither of them had a face to speak of. The larger of the two seemed to only have one large glowing red eye where a face should have been, and was elbow deep in Pulsar's chest cavity. The other- Soundwave as he'd come to learn his name- had an obsidian black glass visor covering his face. His own HUD had indicated numerous memory errors and storage system failures, as well as several new hardware mods he hadn't recognized. Compounding matters, he had felt a foreign presence in his head. So, naturally, when his systems finished a rather hurried boot sequence, he'd panicked.

Soundwave nodded as to indicate no. Pulsar had somehow felt the response even as he turned away. He hadn't been alone in his head since he'd woken up in that dingy lab. He wasn't sure what had been done to him, and regardless of what he thought of the cycloptic freak who'd been poking around near his spark chamber, he somehow felt like he could trust Soundwave. In the solar cycle since, he had followed Soundwave, if for no other reason than he had no memory other than his name.

Soundwave watched him as he delicately picked his way through the rubble, studying him. He had never forced anyone into a bond with him. Pulsar had been different, however. The young mech had no chance of survival, he told himself. What he had done to the young mech went against all of his inbuilt instincts. A troubling though occurred to him: What if Pulsar resented him for what he'd done? He knew nothing concrete about the young mech now bonded to him. He knew Pulsar was a monoformer, a fact that would complicate matters all on it's own. Laserbeak was able to dock with Soundwave in order to synchronize her systems with his own. Pulsar had no such capability, which he knew would create a strain on their bond.

Laserbeak, who had been unsuccessfully pinging her master for a few moments, finally got his attention with an alarmed shriek. Soundwave, snapped his focus back to his surroundings and quickly scanned the sky for her. As he did so, a mild panic began to creep into his processor. The sky had clouded over quite significantly. The atmosphere of Cybertron had been scarred by eons of brutal war and the rain, which had been a mere nuisance before the war, was now acidic enough to be quite dangerous to even the most armored of mechs. He recalled Laserbeak to her dock as he leapt into the air, transforming moments after his systems registered her connection.

/Pulsar!/ he nearly shouted over their bond, causing the young mech to drop into a crouch and instinctively grab at his helm. Soundwave was on top of him in moments, grabbing him with a grappling hook as he swooped overhead.

"Ouch! Hey what the-" Pulsar cried out as he was yanked unceremoniously from the ground, leaving it and the wreckage behind in a blur of speed as Soundwave throttled his engines up to near full capacity.

"Soundwave?! What the slag! Put me down!" he clawed at the hook which was locked securely around his midsection, panic creeping into the back of his mind from their bond.

/Rain. Deadly./ Soundwave put as much calm into his voice as could be while trying to calm himself down. Soundwave made a mental note to teach Pulsar how to better control his own emotional state, as the feedback loop between him and his symbionts could easily amplify emotional states. He made a dive for a large canyon formed by two of Cybertron's massive surface plates that had been blown apart during the war. The former decepticon laboratory and Soundwave's home, as it were, lie only a half a click ahead. A few drops of the acidic rain sent flashes of pain into his processor as he dove down towards the approaching entryway. Soundwave set Pulsar down before transforming and dropping to the ground behind him, ushering him inside with some urgency.

"What the frag is wrong with you? It's just rai-" Pulsar stopped short as he noticed two small holes in Soundwave's wing-arms. He looked past Soundwave, watching the rain as sizzled on impact with smaller pieces of scrap metal laying just beyond the door way. He took several steps back, eyes wide with a combination of fascination and fear.

/Rain, highly acidic. War, damaged Cybertron's atmosphere./ Soundwave replied coolly. He made his way to the makeshift energon processor in the corner and prepared two cubes. He handed one to Pulsar before he made his way to a work bench towards the middle of the room where he had several cases of supplies he had managed to scavenge.

/Pulsar needs to refuel/

"Umm, thank you. I-back there, you saved me." Pulsar's voice was softer now. He sighed as he watched Soundwave prep two nano-mesh patches. He took several tentative steps forward to get a closer look at the damage. Soundwave noticed this and accommodated him by turning slightly. Pulsar winced at the sight of the two wounds. They weren't serious, but were most definitely painful.

/Damage, minimal. Pulsar, my responsibility to care for/

"Why, though? Does it have something to do with what that creepy one-opticed mech was doing to my spark chamber?"

Soundwave finished applying the second of the two patches to his arm and paused a moment. Internally, he was at war with his core programing. Shockwave had made the necessary modifications to Pulsar in order to bond his spark to the carrier's, and Soundwave hadn't even had the chance to object or question what had been done until after his link with Pulsar became active. Soundwave knew it was a last ditch effort to save the young mech's spark from fading, but it was not in a carrier's core programing to bond to an un-willing mech.

/Pulsar, spark fading. Symbiotic bond, only available method to prevent spark collapse/

"Oh," Soundwave's answer only created more questions in Pulsar's processor. "Is that why I can hear you in my head?"

Soundwave stood, and turned to face Pulsar. Laserbeak disengaged from her dock on his chest before alighting a nearby table, watching the two of them with interest. He took a few hesitant steps towards Pulsar, raising his hands to show he meant no threat.

/Soundwave explain more completely?/ Soundwave asked the young mech, now within arms reach.

"Umm, yeah, please," Pulsar was unsure of what the larger mech had planned. For the moment, a calming sensation seemed to wash over him from an unknown source. He watched as Soundwave gently placed his hands on either side of his helm and immediately felt as if the world around him had started to spin violently.


	5. Chapter 3

I've not abandoned this story! Just had alot of stuff in RL. Meh. RL Sucks. I wanna run away and join the Cybertronians. Please R&R!

* * *

"Pulsar. Wakey-wakey, little mech," Pulsar on-lined to a haze of red as various critical errors flashed across his hud. He shook his head and refreshed his optics a few times in an attempt to clear the errors.

"Wha- What happened?" he managed to murmur, off-lining his optics and shaking his head a bit more vigorously this time, trying to clear the fog from his mind. His vision finally began to clear, the haze of red slowly dissipating from his HUD as his optics focused on the mech standing over him. He scrambled back as far as he could from his current position at the overly expressive white face peering down at him. The other mech merely rolled his bright red optics and sneered.

"You're welcome, by the way," Pulsar watched him warily as he stepped away to a nearby workbench. It was at this point that Pulsar relaxed a bit, catching sight of Soundwave standing only a few feet away. Pulsar looked at him expectantly, and felt a wave of relief from Soundwave.

"What happened?" he asked again, placing a hand to his head. As he felt around his neck, he realized there were cables hanging from back of his head.

"I wouldn't mess with those, if I were you," the white-faced, red eyed mech called out in a creepy sort of sing-song voice. Pulsar jerked his hands away from the cabling, clearly a little uneasy about everthing.

/Pulsar suffered from near catastrophic systems crash from attempted access to memories./ Soundwave explained over their bond. Unaware of Soundwave's reply to Pulsar, the other mech returned to the berth with a scanner in hand, running it over his head and chest compartments before sounding his satisfaction.

"You crashed. From what I can tell, quite severly. Soundwave here stabilized you and brought you straight to me. I've spent the last few cycles putting your higher functions back together." the red, obviously boastful mech intoned.

"And who are you?" Pulsar asked as the other mech carefully disconnected the cabling from the back of his head.

"'Names Knock Out. I used to….work quite closely with Mr. Personality there," Knock Out gestured to Soundwave, who merely looked at him in reaction to the nick name.

/Soundwave blocked access to Pulsar's memories to prevent further crashes./ Pulsar could feel the irritation rolling off Soundwave. Knock Out removed the last of the cables attached to Pulsar's helm before stepping back,

"But enough about me, at least for now anyways. Whatever could be so jarring in your memory banks to cause a systems crash when accessed? Hmm?" Knock Out asked in quite a patronizing voice.

"I-I wish I knew. Soundwave found me in a stasis pod he pulled from the wreckage of a ship. There weren't any other bodies, so I must have been piloting it. I guess, anyway." Soundwave placed a hand on Pulsar's shoulder to comfort him.

/Caution, Pulsar. Accessing your memories is what caused your systems crash./ Soundwave reminded him. Pulsar nodded a thanks to him before slipping off the berth to stand on his own, nearly collapsing to the ground as he did. Once again, his HUD clouded over with red, this time now due to his energon levels being critically low. Soundwave caught him easily with his tentacles, setting him back on the edge of the medical berth. Knock out grabbed an energon cube from the workbench, having anticipated the smaller bot's levels being low.

"Here. Nothing like a complete systems crash to deplete the fuel cells," He handed the cube to Pulsar before stepping away to a dispenser just across the room. He paused briefly, however, in front of Soundwave, a serious look on his face. Soundwave understood, and followed the doctor.

"Soundwave," Knock out sighed, "I know why he crashed. It doesn't make any sense, but the data on his systems is time-stamped some 57 years in the future. If it were one or two files, or they were all random dates, fine. But, every. Single. File on his systems is marked with that same date. He crashed because his chronometer has the current date. His start up sequence synchs his chronometer with the nearest galactic positioning satellite, which isn't uncommon with fliers and pilots." Knock out looked back to Pulsar, who was still trying to get his bearings and looking around the small, but impeccably neat and clean workshop.

"Look, Soundwave, I know you take that whole….oath of silence slag seriously, but I need to know where you found him to be able to help him." Knock out finished, quietly, but exasperatedly.

Soundwave vented softly. He hadn't accessed his vocalizer in quite a long time, and wasn't sure it would even work.

"So-chkk" a small burst of static came from Soundwave's vocalizer, bringing him to pause for a moment before trying again, "Sound...wave found Pulsar...in stasis pod….in wreckage," he managed to finally get out, "Shockwave detect Pulsar has half spark. Spark fading due to absence of Pulsar's twin. Shockwave perform emergency bonding procedure to bond Pulsar to Soundwave to save him." Soundwave paused, taking a moment himself to look back to Pulsar, sending waves of comfort through the bond before continuing, "Logical explanation: Pulsar from Cybertron's future."


	6. Chapter 4

As promised, Chapter 4. And before 01/07 no less! Read/review please!

* * *

Pulsar stood near the window, looking at the city below. There was ongoing construction every direction he looked; some husks or former buildings being demolished, while others were newly built and yet to be completed. He felt as if he should recognize the buildings, or even the city itself, yet no such recollection came. He crossed his arms and gritted his denta in frustration and rested his head gently against the transparisteel looking at the ground below. He glanced back towards where the other two were in recharge. Knockout, on his own berth towards the back of the room, and Soundwave, on a makeshift berth near the medical berth. They had both been in recharge for several joors, yet Pulsar had been unable to enter recharge, despite still feeling a bit weak from his earlier ordeal.

Knockout's home was meticulously neat, if a little sparse. Only about a quarter of it was designed for actual living space; a recharge berth, a couple of small shelves containing some polishing supplies and a few datapads, a vid screen set upon a separate shelving unit, and his berth. The rest of the room was setup with the red mech's profession in mind. Several shelving units of various medical supplies and equipment on one side of the room, and several workstations with various configurations of medical monitoring equipment on the other with the one med berth in the center.

"Trouble recharging?" Pulsar jumped at the sound of Knockout's voice. He hadn't heard the other mech rise from his berth, much less cross the room to where he now stood.

"Sorry, you seemed a bit lost in thought," Knockout spoke softly, moving to stand near him at the window. The two of them stood there in silence, looking out over the slumbering city below. Knockout opened and closed his mouth several times as he thought of something to say, though Pulsar spoke first.

"Ever woken up somewhere that feels so familiar, and yet so foreign at the same time?" Pulsar spoke without looking up.

"Quite a few times back before-," Knockout cut himself off, realizing where his rather comical remark would've led. Pulsar had now turned to him questioningly.

"Before what?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing,"

"Knockout, I don't even know who I am. I need to kn-"

"Look, kid, I'm sorry. But I'm the _last_ person you want a history lesson from." Knockout cut him off with a sigh.

"Besides, Soundwave would probably rather fill you in himself. He'll take good care of you. He's programmed to, afterall,"

"What do you mean he's programmed to?" Pulsar asked inquisitively, choosing to drop the previous subject in light of this new piece of information.

"He's a carrier."

"A what?"

"Oh, right. Well, carriers are a little different. Their spark can support more than just themselves. They typically wind up teaming up with group of mini-cons, or just smaller mechs, like yourself. That's actually how you're still online,"

"Huh? How-"

"You're a split-spark, kid," Knockout paused for a second with a slight sigh, "Basically, you and another mech share two halves of one spark. Looks like Soundwave patched you up to link with him since your twin-"

"Correct." Pulsar and Knockout were both startled to suddenly see Soundwave behind them. "Pulsar now bonded to Soundwave. Soundwave responsible for Pulsar's well-being. Soundwave will not fail in this."

Knockout just shrugged and looked back to Pulsar with a little nod towards Soundwave as if to illustrate his earlier point. Pulsar nodded, the conversation with Knockout still weighing heavily on his mind. Soundwave looked out at the city through the glass as if seeing something neither of the other two had.

"Area: No longer safe. Pulsar: Will now accompany Soundwave." With that, Soundwave turned from the window and walked towards the lift leading to the roof. Pulsar hesitated at first, not wanting to leave Knock Out until he had more answers.

"You'd better head out kid. Mr. Persona-Soundwave! I mean Soundwave will take care of you," Knock Out quickly corrected himself as he saw the other suddenly stop in his place and stand to their full height. He urged Pulsar onwards with a wave.

"I hope to see you again soon," Pulsar said his goodbyes as he scrambled to catch back up with Soundwave's larger strides.

* * *

The night air was cool against Pulsar's plating as he stood a few steps from Soundwave, watching him as he scanned the skies surrounding them. Soundwave silently motioned Pulsar towards him as he transformed into his sleek looking alt-mode, the cockpit opening in an invitation. Pulsar hopped up and into the cockpit after a pause, the canopy closing over him. Soundwave took to the skies, silently gliding high over the city. Pulsar watched the lights of the city grow more and more sparse, until at last there were no more lights below them.

"Soundwave," Pulsar started, but hesitated to continue.

/Pulsar has question?/

"What is it you're hiding from?" Pulsar asked in a knowing tone of voice. Soundwave paused before answering. He'd known to expect this line of questioning, though he hadn't expected it quite this soon.

/Soundwave….enemy of Autobots. City/State Opticon Autobot stronghold/

Pulsar considered this answer, thinking it over as something in Soundwave's cockpit caught his attention.

"You mean, the opposite of this?" Pulsar touched the Decepticon symbol etched onto the console in front of him.

/Affirmative. Soundwave….former Decepticon./

Pulsar felt a bit of indignation from the otherwise dispassionate Soundwave flair up for the briefest of moments before he managed to tamp down his emotions once again,

/Autobots likely execute Soundwave on sight./

"They don't sound very welcoming, or pleasant for that matter," Pulsar's eyes widened as he pictured Soundwave's words, the other sending feelings of comfort and safety through their bond.

/Autobots pawns of corrupt functionalist senate. Seek to keep status quo. Decepticons overthrow oppressive government. Autobots resist change. Autobots engage Decepticons in war of attrition. Autobots terminate injured Decepticon soldiers. Soundwave…..lost three symbionts in battle with Autobots. Soundwave will **NOT** lose another/

Pulsar's vents hitched as he felt a wave of raw emotion from Soundwave. Unconstrained bitterness, anger, sorrow, determination, and brief images and sounds from the millions of years of war that he'd been through flowed freely into Pulsar's mind as Soundwave spoke through their bond. Upon the last sentence, Pulsar felt Soundwave's fierce protectiveness and determination to keep safe all that he cared for holding tight to him.

Soundwave dropped to a hover near the entrance to the ruined lab he called 'home' before opening his cockpit allowing Pulsar to jump out. Pulsar landed neatly in the crevice that led to the lab's entrance, Soundwave transforming and landing behind him. Pulsar stopped at the entrance, looking back to Soundwave, who was scanning the skies behind them to ensure they hadn't been followed.

"Soundwave?" Pulsar called to him softly, causing Soundwave to turn to him questioningly, "Thank you." he said simply, before heading inside.

Soundwave paused at the entrance, staring at where Pulsar had been standing. For the first time in a very long time, Soundwave let slip a small smile beneath his mask.

* * *

"Hey Bee! Bee! Come in!-" a boxy, young looking mech of red, yellow and silver called over the com-link with an unusual sense of urgency in his voice.

"Yeah Blaster, I read ya. What's up?" Bumble-bee never really knew Blaster to be excitable, so the worry in Blaster's voice had Bee quicken his pace as he ran towards the control room of their make-shift command center. The doors opened with a creak as Bee ran in, Blaster unable to peel his optics from a video loop on one of the monitors.

"What's tha-" Bee stopped mid sentence as the shape of the MQ-9 Reaper UAV flashed across the screen and disappeared into the clouds, "It can't be." he said softly.

"Bee...is that….Soundwave?" Blaster finally looked at Bee over his shoulder. Bee wasn't looking at Blaster, he was still staring at the screen in disbelief.


End file.
